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According to a story on Russian Machine Never Breaks, John Hoven of MayorsManor.com, joined Sirius/XM’s NHL station to report that the league’s upcoming Seattle expansion team had chosen Seattle Kraken as their name.

“From everything that I’ve heard, it looks like Seattle Kraken is going to be the name,” Hoven said on the broadcast. “Which is quite surprising, actually, when I was given that information just a couple of days ago. I was a little bit in shock personally, just because we had been told several times previously that that was not the name that they were going for.”

–RussianMachineNeverBreaks.com

Hoven went into more detail on what he’s heard, you can check out the post on RMNB to see a more detailed transcript.

DetroitHockey.Net followed up this news with their own finding that some domain names had been registered recently which could strengthen the case for the Kraken name:

A kraken is a giant squid-like sea monster in Scandinavian folklore said to be found in the seas between Norway and Greenland. Legends dating back to the 13th Century said that one could devour the entire crew of a ship in a single gulp.

Going back to Hoven’s appearance on Sirius/XM, he later went into some detail on the colour scheme the team is leaning toward.

“It looks like it’s a red and there’s what I call a teal-ish colour. It’s a lighter teal-ish colour, and black. Those seem to be the primary colours they’re going to be going with.”

These colours seem to line up with what we’ve seen from the team so far, from their new arena renderings to the placeholder NHL Seattle the team’s been using as their primary logo since the franchise was announced.

Seattle’s new NHL team – regardless of the name – will begin their first season in October 2021. We’re expecting the name to be announced sometime in the next two months.

The Dallas Stars should highly consider this type of alternate jersey for 2020-21 after the success of their Winter Classic look.

There’s no doubt that hockey and the NHL are arguably the most decorative sport when it boils down to its hardware and uniforms. After rebranding and unveiling newly designed sweaters back in the 2012-13 season, the Dallas Stars have donned a top-tier NHL uniform. The victory green, white, silver and black pops and gains everyone’s attention for the better.

The layout and design are clean and just portray what a hockey sweater ultimately stands for. While the Stars wore three different types of jerseys this season — in large part thanks to the Winter Classic — it’s time for Dallas to introduce an alternate jersey.

This hockey jersey expert has a few ideas of what a potential third jersey should entail for the Lone Star State.

First and foremost, the team’s fourth alternate jersey should have black as its base color. If there’s a team that can pull off black for a third jersey, it’s Dallas.

Keeping the layout and design consistent with the team’s home and away sweaters is key. Let’s not forget that Dallas should stitch its primary logo as the main crest for the Stars’ future third jersey. The Stars don’t need to reinvent the wheel or follow through with the same mistake Dallas made with the Taurus constellation sweater from 2003-04.

While keeping this sweater predominantly black, the Stars should replicate their road jersey’s layout and design, but leave out the shoulder yokes. Instead of entailing the yokes — save the space for a shoulder patch on both sides.

The alternate state of Texas logo, that can be seen on the team’s pants, would complement the sweater and offer a change of pace.

One major detail the Stars should consider is the piping and stripes located at the base and on the sleeve-areas of the jersey. Let’s face the facts, the stripes and piping are deal breakers for any hockey jersey.

An intriguing look would portray two stripes just like the road jerseys, but have a white stripe above the green one.

One more subtle detail to consider is the collar area of the jersey. An all-black collar with a smaller green border placed on the top area of the collar would offer a sleek appearance.

This type of third jersey arguably offers an intimidation factor while staying true to Dallas’ jersey history.

adidas journeys ahead of time with a sleek, futuristic design, which pulls inspiration from the Air Force Academy’s angular architecture and aircraft.

The jerseys will make their on-ice debut on Saturday, February 15, when the Kings take on the Colorado Avalanche at the Air Force Academy’s Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo. (5 p.m. on NBC in the U.S. and on SN1 and TVAS2 in Canada).

The Kings will don the special jerseys for a second and final time this season on February 29 when they host the New Jersey Devils at STAPLES Center.

Design: The architecture of the venue’s Air Force Academy, coupled with a pilot’s ambition to push to the edge, inspired the oblique angles used to shape the jersey’s typography and numbering. A checkerboard design graphic is implemented along the neckline.

The adidas ADIZERO Authentic jersey is lighter, cooler, and stronger – featuring twill numbers that reduce weight, adidas Clima® technology that combines moisture management with breathability and maximized circulation to keep players cool, and Aeroknit fabric for a full range of motion and durability.

At the forefront of innovation, design and craftsmanship, the adidas ADIZERO Authentic jersey takes the hockey silhouette to the next level by redefining fit, feel and lightweight construction.

The adidas ADIZERO Authentic Pro NHL® jerseys will be available online at adidas.com, NHLShop.com, and at the TEAM LA online shop beginning January 20.

These are either nice or the worst things you’ve ever laid eyes on, apparently

As a huge hockey fan myself, it’s not exactly news when the NHL does something that most of its fans dislike. That’s what we call “business as usual.” However, there are still certain times when we all have no choice to be, like, “damn, they thought this was a good idea?”

That seems to be the case with this year’s NHL All-Star Game jerseys, which Adidas unveiled to the public on Wednesday afternoon. The uniforms feature single-color team logos over a musical staff that runs across the front of the jersey, a nod to the host team in the St. Louis Blues. Like last year, each of the All-Star teams will have a dark gray and and white version of the uniform.

Here’s a look:

It’s not uncommon for people to turn into harsh critics when it comes to new jerseys, and style is subjective so not everyone usually comes to an agreement upon assessment. That being said, It appears that a whole lot of people dislike these, or at least think they could be significantly better!

Luckily, not EVERYONE hates them.

Personally, I don’t think they’re putrid or the worst the NHL has ever had, but they’re certainly not good. The big problem here is that only some of the jerseys look solid-to-good while others look downright terrible, and that’s mainly due to the single-color team logos. If your team logo is on the darker side, you’re probably okay. However, logos using lighter/brighter colors over the gray and white jerseys… woof.

It seems like it would have made a lot more sense to just stick to a fully gray & white theme, like the league did in last year’s All-Star Game. Those jerseys looked quite good across the board. It’s understandable that the league wanted to try something different this year, but the execution leaves room for desire. Perhaps the logos would look better if the colors were muted a bit.

Anyway, if you want to assault your eyes or make fun of these in action, feel free to watch the NHL All-Star Game on January 25th in St. Louis. Or don’t. It’s a free country.

In 2004 it was Alex Ovechkin, in 1984 it was Mario Lemieux, tonight is the night where teams get to add young talent to their roster that can change their franchise forever. Who will your team select? Stay up to date with our live 2018 NHL Draft first-round blog! We’ll be updating with each selection as the night unfolds with links to purchase draft-style jerseys for each player so you can be the first to rock your team’s selection on the back of your jersey!

One of the more fun aspects of collecting jerseys is adding those that may have been rarely worn, special occasion, or somewhat “off-kilter” designs (I’m pointing at you, Dallas Stars Mooterus!). These otherwise “oddball” jerseys can really get a conversation going about your collection. Other unique jerseys are those of players on teams that they actually happened to play with but, otherwise, really don’t look right; especially when thinking back on their careers of where they made their biggest impressions on fans.

Many players are synonymous with particular teams even though they may have played with others in their careers. For many of us who grew up in the 80s watching hockey the best example of this may be Wayne Gretzky. He is still, at least in many of our minds, synonymous with the Edmonton Oilers. To see him wearing LA Kings, NY Rangers or even those St. Louis Blues colours (though the latter was only for 18 games) still doesn’t look right compared my hockey memories of him wearing Oilers’ blue and orange. This is despite the fact he actually played more seasons outside of Edmonton than with the Oilers.

Out here on the west coast of Canada Trevor Linden will always be known as “Captain Canuck.” No other player gave more blood, sweat or tears for that organization than him. Yet, while Mike Keenan’s trading him to the New York Islanders will forever be a day that lives in infamy many of us need to be reminded that he actually played parts of two seasons each with the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals. Of course, to say he doesn’t look right in anything other than Canucks colours is a little ironic since those colours changed a few times over the years that he wore Vancouver jerseys. But, the point is the same: #16 was, is and always will be wearing a Canucks jersey (whatever it may look like) in our minds and jersey collections.

Staying with the Vancouver Canucks, one of their grittiest players ever who helped them “Slay the Dragon” by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup playoffs was Kevin Bieksa. To say he really didn’t look right wearing the Anaheim Ducks’ jersey (another arch-rival after the Ryan Kesler trade) was only compounded when he had to change from his customary uniform #3 to #2 during his first season in Orange County.

The recent Hockey Hall of Fame inductions also reminded us of two greats of their generation who will also have different jerseys on Google Images as a footnote to their careers. Seriously – will anyone remember Martin Brodeur suiting up for 7 games with the St. Louis Blues?! Talk about a jersey that just doesn’t look right on a player after he tended the twine for New Jersey for over two decades! I’m sure there’s at least one Coolhockey.com blog reader who has this jersey (probably ordered from Coolhockey.com too!).

Even though Brodeur’s HHOF classmate, Martin St. Louis started his NHL with the Calgary Flames and ended his career with the New York Rangers he will forever by linked to the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, if he looks strange wearing the “Broadway Blue Shirt” then how about his fellow Lightning Stanley Cup teammate, Vincent Lecavalier wearing a Flyers jersey, or weirder still, the black and silver of the LA Kings?!

What would a blog for a Toronto-based company be without mentioning one of, if not the most revered, Maple Leaf of his generation: Doug Gilmour. This man has become as much a myth and legend as almost anyone of his era for getting the absolute most out of his slight frame. I’d argue that he made as much a mark in his career and for himself playing with the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues but it was really his time with the Leafs that most hockey fans will remember him. Though it may not look weird to see Gilmour Flames or Blues jerseys it sure doesn’t look right to see him wearing the colours of old Norris Division rivals, Chicago Blackhawks. Or how about with regional rivals, Buffalo Sabres? But, I’m sure more than just his biggest fan, Don Cherry’s head spins if you happen to see a #93 Gilmour on the bleu, blanc et rouge of Toronto’s “Forever Rival” Les Canadiens de Montreal!

I’m sure each of you has favourite players who just didn’t look right wearing certain jerseys of certain teams. For me, it is still heartbreaking to see Dave Babych in a Hartford Whalers jersey (though, it’s one of the best ever jerseys) after he was my very first favourite player growing up a Winnipeg Jets fan.

Ray Bourque wearing the snow-swept A of Colorado’s Avalanche in place of the spoked B is another jersey that doesn’t look right to me.

But, perhaps, the worst all time “that doesn’t look right” is when “Number 4” ended up wearing a Blackhawks jersey for the final 26 games of his career instead of Bobby Orr’s familiar gold and black Bruins’ uniform. This should be wiped from the record books! And, as much as everyone should be a fan of #4 it is “Hockey Heresy” to have an Orr Chicago jersey (just sayin’ not judgin’).

What are some of your favorite players who just didn’t look right wearing a certain uniform? If you’re a fan of a certain player then collecting jerseys from each of the teams they may have played for is an interesting way to add to your collection. Though, if you were a fan of 12-teams player, Mike Sillinger, it could be a costly proposition. And you thought the 9-members of the “Travelling Jagrs” wearing a jersey from each of his 9 NHL teams were a cool club…lol!

Professional sports teams stick by each other and support each other throughout their seasons. Teams show their fellow city mates love by having a whole night dedicated to them. For the NHL and even USA hockey that means making jerseys in honor of those teams. Here is my list of the best hockey jerseys inspired by non-hockey sports teams.

San Jose Sharks – Golden State Warriors

The San Jose Sharks showed their fellow bay area team some love by wearing Warriors inspired jerseys for warmups on multiple occasions with the most recent being on February 16th. With the Warriors being the best team in the NBA and looking for their third straight title the Sharks are fully on board and are behind their fellow bay area team. Hopefully, for Sharks fans these jerseys bring the Sharks the same championship success the Warriors have seen.

Tampa Bay Lightning – Tampa Bay Rays

On March 26th of 2018, The Tampa Bay Lightning celebrated their 25th anniversary by showing the love to their fellow city mates the Tampa Bay Rays. The Lightning wore Rays’ themed jerseys for their warmups on March 26th and they looked awesome. The inspiration of these jerseys came from the Lightning playing three seasons at the ThunderDome which is now Tropicana Field and the home of the Rays. I for sure loved the look of these jerseys and wish the Lightning wore them in game.

Los Angeles Kings – Los Angeles Lakers

On December 5th and 6th, the Lakers and Kings showed each other love by having back to back team nights. On December 6th, the Kings hosted Lakers night for their home game. During warmups in the Kings’ game, they wore absolutely stunning Lakers themed jerseys. Not only do they share a city together but each call Staples Center home. One thing is for sure, these Lakers themed jerseys make me miss the Kings old school jerseys.

Minnesota Wild – Minnesota Twins

After the 2018 MLB regular season ended Minnesota Twins superstar and icon Joe Mauer announced his retirement. Mauer was a career Twin and was a once in a generation player. On February 12th, the Wild honored the Twins legend by donning Twins’ themed jerseys and Mauer’s name and number were on the back of all the jerseys. The Wild gave Joe Mauer a true retirement celebration fit for a legend.

Los Angeles Kings – Los Angeles Chargers

On December 18th, 2018 the Los Angeles Kings showed their love to one of their city’s NFL teams. The Kings hosted Chargers’ Night at Staples Center and wore Chargers powder blue jerseys for warmups. In the NFL, the Chargers’ powder blue jerseys are considered one of the best of all time. The Kings scored a touchdown with these jerseys and hope to see them again soon.

St. Louis Blues – St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Blues have shown their support to their fellow city mates by wearing Cardinals themed jerseys multiple times. The Blues played at Busch Stadium (Home of the Cardinals) for the 2017 NHL Winter Classic. As a baseball fan, I love the look and history behind the Cardinals jerseys and the Blues hit it out of the park with the Cardinals themed warmups. I would love to see those jerseys again soon.

Los Angeles Kings – LA Galaxy

In October of 2018, The Kings hosted LA Galaxy Night at the Staples Center. The fans at the game were lucky to see the Kings wear Galaxy inspired warmup jerseys for the game. The LA Galaxy are one of the most successful MLS teams and their jersey crossover to the NHL was perfect and looked fantastic on ice.

Anaheim Ducks – Los Angeles Angels

The Anaheim Ducks share their city with one other sports team and that is the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels who used to have Anaheim in their name, have had multiple themed nights at the Honda Center. The Ducks have worn Angels themed warmups a few times and each time it has been a homerun look. I am a big fan of Angels jersey and I definitely want to see these jerseys again in the future.

USA Hockey – Buffalo Bills

For the first time ever in 2017, a World Junior Championship game was played outdoors. The 2018 WJC tournament had USA and Canada take their rivalry outdoors to New Era Field home of the Buffalo Bills. USA Hockey showed their love by wearing Bills inspired jerseys in the outdoor game and throughout the tournament. It was a classy move by USA Hockey and was definitely a unique look for USA Hockey.

Los Angeles Kings – Utah Jazz

The Kings are back on this list and this time it is for a team outside of Los Angeles. The Kings and Canucks faced off in a preseason game in Salt Lake City. The Kings made a classy move by showing their love for the only professional sports team in Utah by wearing Jazz themed warmup jerseys. The Kings have worn many different warmup jerseys of different sports teams and they have all looked awesome. It was a great move by the Kings to wear these jerseys and they were a slam dunk look on the ice.

Which jerseys did I miss on this list or which jersey crossover would you like to see happen in the NHL?

With the 2018-2019 regular season coming to a close, we look ahead to some exciting jersey changes coming up for next year. Adidas has done a phenomenal job with the NHL jerseys so far, and are looking to add even more improvements next year. Teams will be changing everything from colour schemes to striping patterns and even a few complete rebrands. Below is a list of the 8 confirmed teams that will have uniform changes for the 19-20 season.

Anaheim

The Mighty Ducks are back! Anaheim will be bringing back the Mighty Duck as their main logo for the 19-20 season. Their current third will be used as a home jersey with a white variant being used for the away.

Buffalo

The Sabres will be moving away from the navy and yellow colour scheme they currently employ in favour of a royal blue and yellow one similar to when they first entered the league. No design changes will occur to the actual striping or logo.

Chicago

The Hawks are not one to change their jerseys very often, but have decided its time to switch things up. It’s been described to us as swapping Ottawa’s current jersey with a Blackhawks logo for the new season.

Florida

With the popularity of the Black Panther movie in 2018, the Panthers are doing a full rebrand to attract more fans by changing their uniforms to a black and neon colour scheme. The redesign will also tie into a “Miami Vice” – like theme that was so popular with the Miami Heat.

Los Angeles

The Kings will follow in the same footsteps as the Sabres and are going back to their roots by switching from grey/black to purple/gold for their home and away jerseys.

Ottawa

The Senators have been a dumpster fire this season and are looking to turn things around. Owner Eugene Melnyk believes that a complete redesign will spark a change in the team and its fan base. In an attempt to show fans that he can be a good guy and is working for them, Melnyk has licensed the rights to @Brian5or6’s logo for their uniforms next season.

Toronto

After expecting to yet again bow out in the first round of the playoffs to the Bruins, Toronto has decided that an “if you can’t beat em, join em” mentality is the right thing for the team’s future and will adopt the Bruins design but in a blue/white colour scheme.

Vegas

Vegas have been historic throughout their first couple of years in the league and will be making a subtle but awesome change to their jerseys. While the bulk of the design will stay the same, the striping pattern on the sleeves and waist will now have the word “Historic” indented into the design instead of the current floral pattern.

The Carolina Hurricanes dropped new road uniforms on August 20th and it featured a look never seen in the franchise. The team decided to go with a diagonal wordmark that says “Canes” and features the warning flag in the C. The warning flags once again line the bottom jersey stripe as well as the inner collar. The team’s secondary logo, featured on the alternate jersey, is on the shoulders. The team also has brought back the red numbers with the black trim. The red shoulder yoke stretching down to house the nameplate has also been removed.

It is a much better look than the road that was there before and feels more like a Hurricanes jersey. The wordmark logo is not that much of a surprise seeing as Tom Dundon, current owner stated that he has been wanting three logos since he purchased the team. It is a cool look that should look great on the ice. This could actually be the beginning of more diagonal wordmark jerseys. The Rangers have had it for such a long time and it has always looked fantastic and the Hurricanes have decided to give it a shot. It is a clean look that should pay off and has a lot of people wanting one.

The biggest thing I have seen people talk about that is not on the jersey is the new helmet decal. There is now a red and black version of the team’s primary logo on the helmet and it is 3D which is the first time anyone has done it and is a great feature. The Hurricanes are also the only team to feature three different main logos on their jerseys. The eye on the home, the “CANES” wordmark on the white jerseys and the double warning flag on the alternate jersey. Only one other team in the NHL has two separate logos on the home and road jerseys. Florida has Panthers on their logo on their home jerseys and and Florida on their road jerseys logo.

Want to guest write for the CoolHockey blog? Check out this post and you could receive $50 toward your next purchase just for writing about jerseys!

With Christmas and Hannukah less than a month away it should soon be time to start ordering your NHL jerseys from CoolHockey, but with all the different choices available it may be difficult to make a decision on what to purchase. In this blog, I will go over my personal top 10 selections on what the most ideal jerseys are for the holiday season.

10. MINNESOTA WILD (HOME)

Starting off the list at #10 is the Wild’s home jersey. The Wild jersey is one of the best in the league, even if the team isn’t, and the Adidas rebrand is almost a must-have for any collection. This jersey, especially a good purchase at this time of year with the Christmas colors would look great with the young defenceman Matt Dumba on the back. Overall a great jersey to start the list.

9. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (HOME)

At #9 is the Blackhawks home jersey but not the new one for this season. If you can live with the hated collar on the original Adidas Hawks jersey, it is not only beautiful including a hand-stitched logo, but is also 40% with the code “HAWKS40”. In my opinion, this jersey is best fit with the future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane on the back, coming off a dominant 2018-19 season and continuing his dominance throughout this season.

8. EDMONTON OILERS (HOME)

The #8 pick is the Edmonton Oilers home jersey. In my opinion, this is the best oilers uniform in their team history, as the bright orange goes perfectly with the navy blue. This is a no brainer to add to your collection and who better to get on the back then the best player in the NHL Connor McDavid.

7. NEW JERSEY DEVILS (ALTERNATE)

My 7th pick is the New Jersey Devils alternate jersey. Not only is this a very festive jersey with the classic red and green Christmas colors, but is also a beautiful throwback to the original Devils look. Just in case Taylor Hall leaves in free agency the best choice for this uniform has to be the first overall pick, Jack Hughes.

6. ST. LOUIS BLUES (HOME)

Just before the top 5 at #6 is the Stanley cup champions jerseys, the St. Louis Blues. The Blues coming off their first cup in franchise history, also have one of the nicest jerseys in the league and adding a Stanley cup patch to the jersey would be a perfect addition to any collection. The obvious choice to put on the back of this jersey would have to be the past Conn Smythe winner, Ryan O’Reilly.

5. NEW YORK RANGERS (HOME)

Starting the top 5 is the team that signed the biggest free agent of the past season, the New York Rangers. The Rangers classic look is undoubtedly one of the best in the league and the player of my choice has to be that big free agent, Artemi Panarin.

4. BUFFALO SABRES (50TH)

At the fourth spot is one of the best jerseys to be released this season, the Sabres 50th. The Sabres 50th includes the beautiful crest just like the Hawks, hand-stitched on to perfection. The college-esque uniform is extremely nice and a solid choice would be captain Jack Eichel or the first overall pick of 2018, Rasmus Dahlin.

3. VANCOUVER CANUCKS (ALTERNATE)

Starting the top 3 is the new Canucks third. At first, I didn’t like the look of the alternate but really liked the new homes/aways. But after some time the look really grew on me. The two thick green stripes on the bottom and the new stick in rink logo create one of the best alternates in the league and with many players to choose from such as Horvat, Pettersson, Boeser, and Hughes you can’t go wrong with the new Canucks alternate jersey.

2. ANAHEIM DUCKS (ALTERNATE)

You may have thought this was the recently released orange thirds but no, I’m talking about the black alternates from last year. This jersey was only worn for the 2018-19 season so the Ducks will most likely never wear these again. This means it’s a great purchase for any collection as it will possibly be a very rare jersey in the future, not to mention it’s a very nice nod to the Mighty Ducks. If I were to pick a player I’d have to go with Rickard Rakell as I think he’s a big piece of the Ducks current rebuild and is only getting better.

1. ARIZONA COYOTES (ALTERNATE)

Without a doubt, this jersey will always take the #1 position for me. This is by far the greatest alternate in the league and in my opinion the greatest jersey of all time. Even if you’re not a Coyotes fan which many are not, this jersey is ideal for any collection especially in an Adidas. The obvious choice would be captain, Ekman-Larsson or newly acquired Phil Kessel, but I would recommend the young center who’s off to a great start, Nick Schmaltz.

Want to guest write for the CoolHockey blog? Check out this post and you could receive $50 toward your next purchase just for writing about jerseys!